A Different Sorceress
by Mystical Authoress
Summary: We know, in The Last Story, that the founder of House Arganan fell in love with a Sorceress. Many years later, the Count of Lazulis wakes up in the Museum of the Dead and meets a Sorceress, but it's not the same one they speak of in the stories he knows. Oh, and they must escape the fate of going to Hell on top of that, if they can. Good luck to them.


**Disclaimer: I don't own Escape The Night or The Last Story! **

This idea came up when I was replaying The Last Story and also following Season 4 of Escape The Night. For those who don't know The Last Story: The founding member of the Arganan family/House Arganan fell in love with a Sorceress, and together they summoned the Outsider to Lazulis to end a war, which resulted in the current events of The Last Story many years later. What if the current Count of Lazulis, Count Arganan, ended up meeting The Sorceress of Escape The Night? And perhaps fall in love?

**Warning:** Major spoilers for Escape The Night Season 4 and The Last Story, as well as more minor spoilers for Escape The Night Seasons 1, 2 and 3. Canon-typical violence and major character death are also included/mentioned.

I hope you all enjoy reading!

* * *

_**A Different Sorceress**_

Summary: We know, in The Last Story, that the founder of House Arganan fell in love with a Sorceress. The Count of Lazulis wakes up in the Museum of the Dead and meets a Sorceress, but it's _not _the same one they speak of in the stories he knows. Oh, and they must escape the fate of going to Hell on top of that, if they can. Good luck to them.

Pairings: Arganan (The Last Story)/The Sorceress (Escape The Night)

* * *

Arganan has no clue where he is. Looking down, he sees that he's standing on a pedestal with shattered glass on the ground around it. He remembers how he died; surrounded by blue light as his laughter turned hoarse, pain searing through his entire body as he tried claiming the Outsider's power for his own.

So where is he now? This can't be the Outsider's interior, is it? From what it appears, from looking around as he gets down from the pedestal, grabbing his familiar dark cane, it's a museum.

Hell, there's even a plaque on his pedestal that reads _"The Count."_ That strikes him as odd, and then he looks around.

There are various items stored around the place. There's a map of Lazulis Island hanging off the wall, the flooring of the room reminds him of the castle's ballroom, and then there are pictures on another wall with plaques underneath detailing the Lazulis Cannon, and the tales of Arganan and the Sorceress.

Who the hell was making an exhibit out of him? It wasn't complete; there were other glass cases that were broken and empty, but he somehow doubted there were other people in them before or else he wouldn't be alone right now. But it was still something. He had to look around. Investigate. It seemed like this place was a museum of oddities, especially if they were making a display about himself. He sees a sign near the doors reading _"The Lazulis Exhibit."_

Just as he opened the (thankfully unlocked) doors, however, he came face to face with a woman. The dark makeup around her eyes got his attention first, and then he noticed more of her: The dramatic v-neck that would be out of place in his court, the feathers that created the equally dramatic shoudlerpiece of her dress. She must be a noble in some other life, or at least that's what he guesses. She is also, admittedly, rather gorgeous.

He also noticed the knife in her hand as she used her spare (and taloned) one to grab him by the neck and slam him against the wall to his right. A groan escaped him, hands raising to grab at her and try shoving her off him, but she put the knife against his throat, just under his chin. He froze, his good eye meeting her two one as he slowly lowered his hands in surrender.

"Who are you?" Her rough voice reminded him of the mercenary Syrenne.

"Arganan." He stated, and did his best not to swallow. "I mean no harm."

"No harm?" She echoes, raises an elegant brow.

He squeaks out a "yes," and she lets go of him. He almost sinks against the wall if he didn't grab his cane for support in time. He watches her look around, examine the plaques and the maps, and then she looks to him, points, and uses one finger to command him to come close. He does.

"Count Arganan." She states. "Ruler of Lazulis Island."

"Was." He managed. "My death could've been a bit more dignified than it was." Disintegrating after attempting to harness the Outsider's Power was not fun.

"You're not as annoying as the others." She states, and he wonders who the 'others' are. People trapped in glass cases like he was? Was _she _trapped in a glass case? "You have two options. Don't annoy me, or I leave you to the other monsters in this museum."

He immediately chooses the first option. He doesn't want to fight monsters, because he _can't _fight. She beckons him to follow her, and he does, but…

"Wait."

She turns and gives him a look. _"Yes?"_

"What should I call you?" He realizes he hasn't asked her name. It would be nice to address her respectfully, especially if she promises not to kill him or leave him to death if he works with her (as well as not 'annoy' her. Her rudeness reminds him of Jirall a tad).

She pauses, then speaks. "The Sorceress."

Well, _that's _an original title. He doesn't tease about it because he doesn't want her killing him for annoying her.

* * *

"Joey, I don't know how you did it," the Sorceress snapped at the man in round spectacles, upon encountering that man and a couple other fancily-dressed people, "But the exhibits are now loose. And the monsters inside them are not kind."

Arganan scoffed, but didn't comment. _As if we need a reminder!_

"I would use my powers," The Sorceress muttered, "but I don't have my staff, _okay?"_

"So," The woman in the feathery dress asks the Sorceress, "Are you on our team now?"

"For now," the Sorceress huffs, "Yes."

The man in the short cap tells her to put the knife down. The woman in the wide-brimmed hat complains about the Sorceress being pissy, but Arganan understands the Sorceress' frustration. He bets that she killed them all out of annoyance more than anything. He'd probably do the same in her shoes right now.

The woman in the feathery dress points to Arganan, looking to a darker haired man in similar glasses to Joey. "Who's he? Was he at your dinner party, Tim?"

Tim shakes his head. "Nope. Definitely not."

Arganan sighed, shrugged as he looked to the group laying eyes on him. "Broke out of the exhibit I was trapped in. Probably helped that it was _in progress."_

"And then you ran into the Sorceress." The man in the short cap managed. "You her lackey, now?"

"I'm as fucking confused as the rest of you are." Arganan managed, giving the guests a look. "But I'm with the Sorceress, and I think her suggestion is the best we have right now."

He almost misses her faint smile in his direction, pleased that he's cooperative, but he sees it and grins back at her.

* * *

"That pretentious bitch."

The Sorceress stares at a large painting of the Collector. Arganan shrugs as Tim calls the Collector's aesthetic "fine," before Joey gives the Sorceress his own look.

"You have the same thing back at your mansion!" The Savant points out, shaking his head.

"Well," the Sorceress huffs back, "Isn't she a copycat?"

Arganan is suddenly reminded of Jirall. "My niece's fiancé had a portrait of himself in his room. His isn't nearly as good as," He gestures to the Collector, "This one." He sees the Sorceress almost glare at him, and he quickly adds, "But if _she's_ a copycat, your portrait's probably better than hers, even if I haven't seen it."

"Thank you." The Sorceress spouts, just as Tim mouthes "nice save" and gives a thumbs-up to him.

And then Joey fucks up the situation by starting the museum's defense system…which will destroy everyone at six in the morning and send them to a final death in Hell if they don't get out of here. _Great._

Being dead wasn't fun. Being stuck in a Museum of the Dead wasn't fun.

But going to Hell _definitely _wasn't fun. He really didn't want to go there, even if he totally screwed things up in the past.

* * *

Arganan isn't sure if _he's _the right person to go rescue people from cages, especially given his physical limits (having a metal lower left leg, an entirely metal left arm, scars all over one's left side and a limp really doesn't help you), but he decides that the more he's cooperating, the better it'll turn out for him. At least, for now. Hopefully it doesn't bite him in the ass too much.

So he's stuck with Gabbie (the lady in the feathery dress), Bretman (the guy in the yellow coat), and Joey (who seems to be at fault for many of these people dying in the first place), trying to rescue their friends. They get to the cage to speak with the captive guests, let them know that they're working on rescuing them.

Immediately Justine, the lady in grey, asks who the heck Arganan is and he once again has to explain himself. He gives the short version of his demise: He was a Count (which is true), and he died trying to defend Lazulis (which was technically true, because he wanted to use the Outsider's power directly in order to make the Lazulis Cannon shoot down the enemy Gurak). He then woke up in here and ran into the Sorceress, and now he's helping the others even though they're totally strangers to him, because teamwork makes the dream work (or so he's heard).

There's another man along with the guests that was trapped like him and the Sorceress; his name is Mortimer, from Everlock. Everlock is where Rosanna and Colleen came from, and both of them cite his usefulness and kindness. However, Joey tells a different story of how Mortimer betrayed him and the guests after Rosanna and Colleen's deaths.

Arganan isn't sure _who_ to believe right now. All he knows is that he needs to find these eyes of Horus and not get caught by the guard.

He sees Gabbie about to get caught, with her completely unaware, and he's tempted to leave her to her fate. However, he knows that he has to be pragmatic; he's a total stranger to everyone here, and they might not trust him. Getting caught in her stead would help him in the long run. Against his own instinct to run and hide, he marches right up to the guard, shouts, and whacks the man in the abdomen with his cane. _Hard. _

It's enough for Gabbie to get away, but he has no chance of avoiding capture. He gets stuck in the cage.

"You're like, half metal and stuff." Alex the Aviator stares at him for a moment. "Are you like a Promethean?"

Arganan, despite himself, can only chuckle. "I don't know what the hell _that_ is, and I'm still very human, last time I checked." Alex still looks confused, and he sighs. "I lost my limbs many years ago. I used to be a fighter. Not so much now."

Rosanna Pansino, the Socialite, is nice enough to tell him that his metal limbs 'look cool.' He appreciates that. She reminds him of a young Calista, when she was so much happier. He hopes Rosanna stays that way. She seems like a genuinely sweet person.

They get out eventually, thanks to a key Joey and the others find, and make a break for it. They meet up with the Sorceress and the other's put the Pharaoh's rod together, and get a key while making those guards go to the jail. Problem solved, for now.

* * *

Arganan watches the Sorceress stab the Pharaoh's guard as she growls, "This museum should be _mine!"_

The guard falls. There's something oddly appealing about watching the Sorceress kill people. Arganan notices Mortimer go ahead to rejoin the group, but the Sorceress spots Arganan before he can leave.

"You want to take over?" Arganan questions. He might as well ask. He wants to know what she wants, because she clearly oozes of power (or, at least, used to when she was still alive) and that could seriously help him out right now if he plays his cards right.

The Sorceress' gaze settles on him, still predatory from killing he guard as she backs him up against the stairway nearby. He thinks she might put a knife to his throat, but she doesn't. "Better me than that pretentious bitch."

"If you can ensure we both don't go to hell _and_ you don't smite me in the process," He manages, "I can help you take over this place. I've got nothing to gain, trying to be alive again like those others." It's true. He wouldn't have any advantage returning to life. His niece would probably want him dead for all she cares, given how much he abused her emotionally (and physically).

The Sorceress is silent as she processes this. Her jaw is set, her nose wrinkles, but then it relaxes into a slow smile, lips slightly parted as she keeps her gaze on him.

"You are darker than the others." She finally utters, backing off from him enough to give him personal space, but still remains close. She smirks. "Let's see how far you'll go for that."

Arganan isn't sure how to feel about that. At least he doesn't have his throat slit.

* * *

The guests are busy working on another puzzle. Arganan has time to catch his breath and look around after they got chased by a mummified Pharaoh.

"Hey." Mortimer, the younger man previously trapped in the fire cage with the other guests, approaches the Sorceress. "I saw what you did. I know you have a bigger play here."

The Sorceress smiles at him, but it has a different edge than when she smiled at Arganan. "You're such a sweet face…I'd like to do _sick _things to you. But," Her gaze settles on Arganan for a moment, then flicks back to Mortimer, "ah. I need someone a little more _fierce_ for my plans."

Arganan can't help but grin a bit. He hopes she was referring to him in this case.

* * *

Arganan is a pragmatic man. They need the blood of the Pharaoh's Wife, and sure, she should probably die, but she's much like him. Killing the prior ruler because they thought he was weak and all, that is. He sympathizes with her.

So he tries to interfere with killing the Pharaoh's Wife.

"We just need her blood, not necessarily her dead. Just cut her on the arm or somewhere non-vital."

The guests stare at him, puzzled. The Sorceress growls at him, but she cooperates, slashing Neferet across the arm. The Pharaoh's Wife shrieks as blood flows out from the wound, but she's still alive, at least.

Arganan gives Neferet a look as she glares at him. "I suggest you leave. _Next time_, you won't be so lucky."

Neferet runs for her life, and he hopes to never see her again. One of the guests uses the blood to get a Sphinx. The Sorceress turns her attention on Arganan and he wonders if he's going to die this time.

"You certainly like keeping things _alive."_ She notes, eyebrow raised.

Arganan shrugs. "I was a Count. Part of my duty is keeping people alive and _in my favour_. You can only do so much with fear and murder, from my experience. You have to appeal to them, too. That includes letting them live once in a while, giving them hope, and sounding reasonable."

Her gaze narrows. He wonders if he's going to die now. Instead, a chuckle escapes her as she maintains her gaze on him. "More entertaining than I thought, I see." She lets him be, and they follow the guests to what they must do next.

* * *

Arganan realizes he needs to know more about Mortimer. He certainly has an idea of who the Sorceress is, now, but Mortimer is another mystery in itself. Why not ask him how he ended up dead?

"All I remember is that the Carnival Master killed me." Mortimer manages, after Arganan waits with him after voting Justine and Tana into the next death challenge, waiting for one of the guests to win. "He was corrupting people left and right, even killed my mom, and we had to retrieve and purify these artifacts to destroy him. All I remember is spinning the wheel of one of them, and then I remember him snapping my neck."

"You forgot everything in-between those two events?" Arganan asked. "Was the artifact cleansed yet, when you spun it?"

Mortimer blanches, bites his lower lip in silence, but that's the answer Arganan needs. He puts it together: Mortimer was helping the guests in Everlock, but his familiarity and curiosity with the one artifact led to his corruption, betrayal and death (and he doesn't remember the last bit because he was corrupted at the time, and probably isn't right now). Arganan feels that he can probably trust Mortimer a little more, knowing that, and even empathize with him to an extent. After all, curiosity and messing with mythical objects did lead to Arganan's own demise.

"I know I saw it before." Mortimer starts defending, but before he can continue, the horrified shriek of Justine Ezarik and the quick yell of Tana Mongeau to get the Pharaoh to stop attacking Justine and bring her the Jeweled Key cuts him off. Arganan thinks this Tana may be very much like him; pragmatic and smart. After all, she did solve a bunch of clues prior to being captured by the Pharaoh earlier, and now she's even trying to keep Justine alive.

Unfortunately, the attempt of staying alive goes sour. Tana can't bring herself to make the Pharaoh kill Justine, but he takes her plea of going home as grounds to kill the Adventurer anyway. Arganan knows there are no loopholes, but he does feel a bit bad for the Adventurer. Her complexion and fighting spirit reminds him of Calista.

Tana collapses in tears for a moment. Arganan walks over, and puts a hand on her shoulder.

"I'm sorry about your friend." He doesn't know what else to say. He's never been good at consolation. He might have the Sorceress somewhat liking him around, and maybe he can empathize with Mortimer, but he also needs the guests on his side, too.

* * *

The next challenge requires finding coins, and whoever is the _poorest _goes into the death challenge. Survival of the fittest, honestly. He's just glad he's not one of those people gathering coins. He sticks with the Sorceress, going into Hell with her and a couple other guests. Not actual Hell, but what's meant to resemble it, that is.

He's not into blue-skinned beings, but…he would be lying if he said he didn't find Kali and the Sorceress flirting at least a _little_ attractive.

"And what are you proposing?" Kali's question has Arganan piqued. What is the Sorceress talking to her about?

"We _kill _the Collector," The Sorceress murmurs into Kali's ear, but not soft enough for Arganan to not hear, "and take over the Museum."

Kali rejects her, but Arganan lets out a slight growl as he looks to the Sorceress, lips pressed flat for a moment. His stomach hardens temporarily as both women give him a look, before the Sorceress simply waves it off. Of_ course_ she wouldn't give a shit about what he thinks of her flirting with Kali. Or so he thinks at first.

As they leave Hell together, the Sorceress lets out an impatient huff of her own. "What's with you?"

"I don't trust Kali." He states it through near-clenched teeth. "Don't think she's worth working with, given her trickery." To be fair, Kali did almost make them pay twenty coins if the guests failed the challenge, and even when they passed, she _still_ wouldn't give them the blade until one of the guests was dead.

The Sorceress dismisses Kali with a handwave. "As if she'd stand a chance against me on her own, once I get my magic back."

* * *

Tim goes down. DeStorm was just too fast for him.

Next thing Arganan knows, he's trapped with all the other guys and surrounded by rebels of an empire. A different empire than the one he knows, but still.

"We have, uh, _secrets."_ Mortimer pleads to the rebels, totally lying to their faces. Arganan knows he can roll with this, having overheard what the rebels were speaking about a spear, and quickly speaks up before any of the guests can ruin the opportunity.

"We know where the spear you seek is. But," He quickly adds, "We can't do much with you leaving us imprisoned. We can't get it in the state we're in. So how about you let us live and untie us, and we'll assist you in taking down the Emperor you despise?"

The rebels are too skeptical and make them find the spear themselves in an hour or else, but the remaining guests and Mortimer are pretty impressed with his speech on the fly regardless.

"I'm a Count, remember?" He can't help but gloat a little. "Comes with the position, or you're done for." He wonders what the Sorceress is going through, if all the guys are here.

* * *

Rosanna Pansino is marrying the Emperor. Or will be, given that she won a courting contest for immunity from the death challenge. They're in the processing of putting together the wedding, and two people must go into the death challenge to entertain the Emperor. That's also apparently when the rebels will step up and kill the Emperor.

"It's not a bad idea." The Sorceress muses as she finishes recapping the situation to Mortimer and Arganan. "Wed him, kill him, take the kingdom. She's very lucky, actually."

"You really like the idea of taking the kingdom, don't you?" Mortimer manages.

The Count gave him a slight look. "Marrying _is_ one of the easier methods to take the kingdom. Also seems the most harmless out of all the options, so I agree with her." After all, that was what he attempted doing with Calista and Jirall in the past.

Mortimer stares. "What did you do in your past life to become Count?"

He still maintains his gaze on the younger man. "Do you _really _want to know?"

Mortimer decides against asking more. Smart choice.

* * *

Arganan thinks that DeStorm might sincerely win the death challenge, despite his supposed past loss against the Aviator. Alex made a wrong move in the challenge, and now he only has about eight or nine squares left while DeStorm has more.

But then DeStorm does the unthinkable: he _cheats. _To save _Alex's _life.

"This is for Lauren."

Arganan doesn't care who Lauren is. He does care, however, that the Emperor has his sword out and is about to kill DeStorm. Arganan wastes no time grabbing the spear the group found earlier, yelling at the Emperor to catch his attention, and then run him through before the man has time to react.

The Emperor goes down. DeStorm and Alex share shocked expressions. Rosanna screams, and same goes for the Emperor's Mother as the Sorceress immediately kills her. It's only then that Arganan realizes that some of the blood got on his suit, and he hisses, shakes his head. _So much for keeping clean_. As if his hands were clean to begin with.

Mortimer's evacuated all the guests, but the Sorceress walks over to him, hands bloody like his as she smiles at him.

"It would be lonely ruling this museum on my own," She croons, and he can't help but feel flattered (it's not often the Count of Lazulis gets _anyone_ flirting with him, even if he was in a position of power). "I could use someone like you on my side."

"I happily accept that offer." He murmurs. Kisses her the back of her bloody hand, and he sees her smile remain as her hand caresses his cheek. It gets blood on his face, but he's pretty sure he can at least wipe it off afterwards. He's not sure if she really means what she says, but even if she doesn't, it's nice to feel appreciated. She's hundreds of years old and he's nowhere close to a century old, but hey. They could make it work.

* * *

Arganan isn't sure how to feel about Merlin, but at least the man is nice and works with the group. Also not too annoying, other than briefly pissing off the Sorceress by reminding her she doesn't have magic. He's just not sure if the tension between the Sorceress and Merlin is because the Sorceress is envious of Merlin having magic while she currently doesn't, or if it's something else. He's not sure if he wants to know.

He also doesn't like how every guest starts comparing him to Merlin, given that they are both 1. Magic users, 2. Older men and 3. Can't defeat the Black Knight, but Arganan has it worse because he actually _is _very useless in this case. He can't run away from the Black Knight easily because of his limp, nor is he the absolute best in swordplay. He's barely proficient at magic, too.

He summons up a weak healing spell for Merlin, hoping that the man isn't dead already, but after that he has to make a break for it like the other guests. It's times like these where he remembers that he's not the most powerful person in the room.

Probably a good thing he has the Sorceress on his side, then. She hasn't commented on his limp, or his metal limbs, at least not aloud. She seems to value his opinion and she definitely appreciated him murdering the Emperor. She's power-hungry like he is, and they just _get_ each other.

Then again, getting power can screw them both over. It definitely screwed him over, wanting too much of it. Maybe he can't have the Outsider's power, but ruling the Museum of the Dead sounds pretty good. They just have to make sure not to go to Hell at six in the morning, first. And not get killed before then.

* * *

Arganan can't help his curiosity when Alex, who tried to be on the 'dark side,' decides that he can't just sit there and wait for Tana and Gabbie to come back (Arganan personally hopes Tana will come back, given how good Tana is good at the puzzles). No, he wants to _save_ them. Why the man wasn't as heroic earlier, Arganan has no clue. Maybe it's Alex being sincere, maybe it's Alex trying to save face in front of the other guests now that DeStorm is gone, maybe it's both.

The guests go to check on Gabbie and Tana, and Mortimer's already over there since he took them to the challenge. Arganan and the Sorceress are alone in the Lounge. Arganan's had enough of running around for the time being, so he'll take any chance he can get for rest. And talk to her, too.

"About your offer earlier…" He started, looked to her. Somehow, the Sorceress' makeup is still intact despite all the running around all night, so far. "Did you mean it? Everything you said?"

He doesn't like liars. Which is probably hypocritical of him, given how he withheld the truth of his ancestor summoning the Outsider in the first place from Zael and the others, as well as the Outsider's resulting effects of being summoned. But now that he's in Purgatory, the Museum of the Dead, he doesn't have to think about that. He just has to think about right now, and it's somewhat refreshing.

The Sorceress looks him in the eye, and there's some sort of gleam in her gaze. She looks rather relaxed, for the first time this evening, and then she speaks.

"I thought you useful to a limit when I first saw you. Especially after reading all I could about you." She tutted a bit, shaking her head. "You warred against these Gurak. Arranged for your niece to marry a Jirall Rambaldt because of their close connections to your Empire's Emperor."

"I had plans to become Emperor." He explained. "Why not take the opportunity?"

She tilted her head. "And then you successfully had young Zael play into your hands…almost. Who's Dagran?"

He blinks. "What?"

She glares. "Did I stutter?"

The Sorceress must know. Arganan can tell by the way she stares at him. He relents and answers her question. "Dagran was a mercenary. I grew to trust him as a valuable ally, however, especially after he first informed me of the power of the Outsider that Zael obtained by accident." He closes his good eye, thinks back to those times. "I knew that if I had Zael in my grasp, I could get another step closer to being Emperor and beating the Gurak. So I played on Zael's dreams of being a knight, as well as the love he had for Calista. Offered him knighthood and my niece's hand in exchange for his loyalty to me."

"Giving people hope. One of those things that you said came with your position." She points out.

He laughs. "I think I did a decent job of it. I just wasn't good enough at covering secrets. Once he found out…the rest is history."

Nor was he good enough at being family to his niece Calista. Or managing his knights properly so they weren't as pathetic as they became. There was a lot he screwed up.

"And then Dagran betrayed you." The Sorceress speaks, and his world stops.

Dagran…_betrayed_ him? The man he trusted all along?

"You didn't look at your own exhibit very well, did you?" She utters. She gives him a look he can't interpret. "There's a glass case entitled _'The Vengeful Traitor.'_ The small print underneath had Dagran's name on it. One of the other plaques nearby mentioned that he worked with the Gurak behind your back."

Arganan swallows. "It was him? It wasn't Jirall?"

"I bet he framed him." The Sorceress chuckles, and he glares at her. "Go see for yourself if you don't believe me."

He doesn't hesitate in doing just that.

* * *

He goes to the Lazulis Exhibit, the same Exhibit he woke up in. The shattered glass is still around, and he does his best to step over the glass and not slip on it, using his cane for steady support. He reads the plaques, because he was stupid enough not to really do so the first time around, and with his sinking heart he realizes that she's right.

Dagran betrayed him all this time, and it hurts. He should've figured this out, should've known better. Then again, the notion of Jirall conspiring with the Gurak…it was just _so _believable, especially since Arganan knew he'd propped up Zael as the savior of Lazulis and all.

"Believe me now?"

He turns and sees the Sorceress, who stood right behind him the whole time he read the plaques regarding Dagran. He can only swallow and nod.

"Yes." He utters. He suddenly feels a bit lighter. He's not sure why. He thought it might break him, but instead it's like something_ steels_ him. Anger, partially, through his clenched fists. But he also unclenches those same fists after a moment, and he looks towards her.

"You're more perceptive than I thought." He manages. "Only took a look around the exhibit briefly when you met me, and you know more than I did."

"You're still useful." She speaks, and takes a step forward. He dares to not take one back, letting her close the space between them. "And the least boring person I've met. Actually reasonable."

"And most cooperative, I hope?" He asks.

She smiles. "Very."

Before he can do anything, she pulls him in for a kiss. It's rough, but he can't help but grin halfway through and kiss her back. She backs him up against a wall as she breaks the kiss, but pulls him back into it and he complies, giving her the same fire that she first gave him.

They part to breathe, and Arganan can't help but chuckle.

"We're going to rule this damned Museum." He murmurs, still smiling. "Together?"

The Sorceress caresses his face, mirroring his grin. "I'd like that very much."

* * *

The two return to the Lounge shortly before the guests do. Gabbie and Tana are both dead (_Damn it,_ Arganan thinks, _why Tana? She was very smart._ Arganan is disappointed.).

"Are you okay?"

It's Rosanna that asks him this, offering her a handkerchief.

Arganan blinks, stares at her for a moment, before shaking his head. "I'm fine." He manages. "Why do you ask?"

"You looked like you almost might cry." She whispers. "I thought…you might be worried about something. Or sad that you're dead."

"Well, you're right on both counts." He decides not to tell her about Dagran, or about his own manipulations. He also decides not to tell her about Calista and how much he hurt her. "But I'll be okay. I promise."

He also decides not to tell her that he made out with the Sorceress in his own exhibit. That might make things awkward.

* * *

The Gorgon attacks, and it's all too fast. The Sorceress tries to attack, but the Gorgon grabs her by the neck and slams her against a wall. Arganan knows of the myth surrounding the Gorgon and closes his good eye, hoping he's not turned to stone.

Mortimer is the unlucky man that's turned to stone. Arganan takes a good long moment before he opens his eye. The Gorgon is gone, the Sorceress is getting up, and he uses his cane to get himself up quickly before offering her his hand. She stares at it, and he realizes that he offered her his metal hand.

She takes his hand. She doesn't say anything, but the look on her face is nothing short of grateful. She doesn't comment on his metal hand, doesn't ask. He guesses she either doesn't want to know about it right now, or already knows from reading the plaques about him back in his exhibit (he didn't look at them too closely when he first woke up in there).

"Are you alright?"

"I'm fine." That's all the answers Arganan needs, and the Sorceress then growls at seeing the now-stone Mortimer. "I _will _gouge her eyes out for this. Mark my words!"

Arganan feels both jealousy and pride at the same time. Jealous because he wants the Sorceress' affections towards him, but proud because he didn't expect any less aggressiveness from her over Mortimer's demise. Mortimer _was _pretty helpful, after all. Maybe he could've been one of his and the Sorceress' lackeys in the Museum of the Dead after all this is over, if he wanted to stay. He could be fun to have around.

And then the guests figure out the 'rainiest of days' with the crystal they got from Merlin, and lo and behold, Matpat and Nikita arrive in a flash of light. Neither of them know who the heck Arganan is (which is understandable) but certainly recognize Mortimer, saying "good riddance" and so on. Arganan guesses those two survived Everlock long enough to see Mortimer betray them (while under the influence of the artifacts).

He's not sure how to feel about Nikita or Matpat. Nikita is an aggressive, take-action sort of person (almost at the same level as the Sorceress in his opinion), and Matpat is rather perceptive, with loads of knowledge to back him up. It probably doesn't help that Matpat is totally staring at him right now with obvious suspicion, so Arganan hopes he doesn't turn the group against them. Rosanna seems to be vouching for both Arganan and the Sorceress though ("They're cool, Matt! They've been really helpful"), so that will hopefully save them.

* * *

Arganan is stuck with the Sorceress, Matpat, Colleen, and Rosanna. DeStorm went with Bretman, Nikita and Joey to go free Alex from the Minotaur's Maze (and Arganan has a feeling that DeStorm and Alex are legitimately going to be good friends if they both get out of here alive, especially given that earlier attempted self-sacrifice).

They complete the statues. No one's harmed or captured by the Gorgon.

However, Arganan hates the weather out here, because somehow it suddenly turned stormy. It's a miracle he's still on his feet, using his cane for support, and he's still surprised the Sorceress isn't blown over by the wind, given how much it's affecting the feathers of her dress' shoulder area.

"Stay close, will you?" She pulls him by the arm, lightly, towards her. "You look like you might fall over."

He complies. He doesn't mind being so close to her, especially given their earlier kiss. Damn it, he wants to kiss her right now, but now is probably the worst timing possible as they go to rejoin the others from the maze. He helps hold the cards out for voting so the wind doesn't carry them away, and he watches as she shuffles the chosen cards and draws.

* * *

Colleen dies in the Minotaur's Maze. Matpat got kicked out of Purgatory (something about the magic not keeping him here long enough), but Nikita's still around….just in time to deal with a genie, who's imprisoned by cannibalistic thieves led by a wicked storyteller.

Arganan doesn't like the cannibal thieves and begs them to let him go as he's tied up with the guests, given that he's already half-metal anyway and wouldn't be worth eating. Thankfully, there are others that free them, and it's only then that Arganan realizes that the Sorceress isn't around.

Did she leave them to die? Did she lie about wanting to keep him around, hence him being stuck with the guests? Did the thieves kill her? (He hopes it's not the second or third option.)

He's relieved when she does reappear by the time they need to vote, and he would hug her if he could.

"Are you two a thing?" Nikita asks, and he wonders if the relief he expressed at seeing the Sorceress gave him away.

The Sorceress wraps an arm around Arganan's waist, pulling him to her side as she smiles. "What do you _think?"_

A series of "oh my gods" and "whaaaaat!?" come from the other guests, and Arganan is pretty sure his face is flushing, but seeing the Sorceress smile is worth it.

* * *

Surprise surprise, Bretman and Joey _survived_ the death challenge and Colleen is back from the dead (or at least as back from the dead as she can be). There's a note the guests find in the Lounge after returning from the Arabian Exhibit, and newly revived Colleen reads it.

"_The Healing Power of the Outsider can __**restore**__ one of the companions that helped you. Though this is an optional quest, you have the chance to make things right in an incomplete exhibit."_

"An incomplete exhibit?" Alex questions. "Does that mean the exhibit all of us were trapped in earlier before Joey freed us?"

Rosanna immediately wonders if it means it can bring Matpat back to this world, who she seems to be rather close with given their earlier hug, or perhaps revive Merlin. Arganan recognizes the words and the family crest on the back of the note.

"The Outsider. I know what that is. And that crest on the back belongs to my family, the House of Arganan."

"Wait, you do?" It's Bretman that asks.

"Yes." Arganan took a deep breath and looked to Joey. "Joey?"

Joey turns to look at him. "Yeah?"

"You said the Collector left this museum to get new things for her exhibits, right?"

"Uh," The Savant nodded, "yeah."

"I think I know which one she wanted new pieces for." He points at the familiar crest. "The note is referring to _my _exhibit! It's still incomplete!"

"What!?" Joey turns to stare at him. _"Your_ exhibit?"

"It was in progress, and it wasn't locked when I left it, but…" Arganan gestures with a hand. "Come with me. We might have a way to bring Mortimer or someone helpful back."

The guests, Arganan and the Sorceress run into the exhibit and look around. Still the same as the last two times Arganan left it, and immediately the guests gaze around, searching for clues.

There's another note. Joey reads it.

"_In order to start your quest to free your friend, you must complete the exhibit's death order. Organize them from earliest to latest, left to right."_

"Death order?" Colleen shakes her head. "Please don't tell me tons of you and the people you knew died recently."

"I don't think it's _that_ many." Arganan mutters, and then heads to the clue. There are a few names (including his own) and the ways they died. The first he reads is **General Asthar:** _Stabbed by Dagran_. "I know I died after General Asthar. That's for sure."

"Okay." The Sorceress moves Arganan's name to Asthar's right. There are a few more names: Dagran, Zangurak, and Jirall.

"But we still have three more." DeStorm points out.

"And I don't know what order the rest died in." Arganan muttered. _I was already dead by then, after all._

"Maybe, uh," Rosanna points out, "The descriptions have a clue?"

They read the following.

**Zangurak:** _Defeated by Zael._

**Dagran:** _Defeated by Zael._

**Jirall**: _Stabbed by the Emperor Sword Zangurak gave to him after being defeated by Zael._

There are no times or dates given in any of the descriptions, so that's not helpful. Arganan can't help the low whistle he gives at the kill count, though. Zael killed a lot of people, didn't he?

"Dagran was close to Zael." Arganan notes, brushing bangs out of his fae. "I wouldn't be surprised if Dagran died _after_ Zangurak and Jirall. And Jirall and Zael never liked each other from the beginning, either."

"How about we try Dagran last, Zangurak before him, and Jirall first?" Bretman suggests.

Bretman's guess is correct. It's Asthar first, then Arganan, then Jirall, then Zangurak and finally Dagran. A box opens, and Alex is the first to grab the note and read it.

"_**The **__**powers of two sacred beasts**__ that guard the Outsider must be __**combined**__ to provide your friend's revival."_ The Aviator reads, before looking up at Arganan. "Do you know anything about sacred beasts?"

Arganan knows the answer: Mitra, who represented loneliness (and killed him, technically, by the way) and Atar, who represents anger (and was attached to the Gurak Continent's part of the Outsider).

And then he explains to the group what the Outsider is: A world seed that his founding ancestor summoned to his world, with help from a Sorceress.

Everyone immediately stares at the Sorceress, and Arganan sighs. "Not _that_ Sorceress. Different one."

A smile plays on the Sorceress' face as she lets him continue explaining: The Outsider wasn't meant to stay in one world, but travel throughout space. Confining it to one world, instead of creating life, did the opposite: slowly drain the world of the life it already had.

Joey looks less than impressed. "And you didn't do anything about it until it was too late?"

"The thirst for power can blind a person to the consequences." Arganan answered. "When you want power enough, you're willing to take almost any risk. You're willing to do anything."

He did not notice the Sorceress' smile fade, replaced by a look of understanding. She understands how alone she was in the end when she got killed, too, all because she got defeated on her quest for the Crown of Oblivion's power. Both of them, in their way, ended up lonely in a quest for power that destroyed them in the end. Funny, how similar they really were.

* * *

They solve a few more puzzles in the Lazulis Exhibit. One of them is matching up associated objects with the deceased persons' names (Arganan places his own cane down to match his own name, and he knows the blue roses go with Jirall), and then they do end up reading books on the _Arganan and the Sorceress_ tale, the one about them summoning the Outsider like the Count told them earlier.

Some of the guests stare at Arganan and the Sorceress (not the one from his world, but the one in the Museum with them right now). After finishing the puzzles, they do find a chunk of a rock, and it glows both blue and red.

DeStorm gets a hold of the next note. _"Two people that represent Atar and Mitra must touch the Outsider to gain its power, before holding hands and using their combined power to revive their friend."_

"Represent Atar?" The Sorceress frowns, looking around everyone. Who in this room could represent Atar?

Arganan looks her in the eye. "You said you didn't have any magic. How do you feel about gaining the power of Atar, the beast that represents rage?"

The Sorceress stares back at him. "You'd give _me_ that opportunity?"

"I don't know who else would fit." He really doubts any of the guests are angry enough, except maybe Nikita but Nikita got out of Purgatory when her magic ran out earlier. "Presumably Zangurak would have the power of the Outsider from Atar's half, but he's not in this Museum right now. And I'm the only one in this place that came into contact with Mitra's half in Lazulis right before my death, so I clearly fit Mitra. Loneliness."

He realizes he's admitting that he's lonely. He's been lonely for a long time, by his own fault. He's the one that hurt his niece and pushed away anyone that could be valuable allies by trying to get power for himself. Now that he thinks about it, his death thanks to the beast that represents loneliness is almost fitting rather than undignified.

He looks to the Sorceress. He's seen her rage multiple times. She's perfect for fitting in with Atar. The Sorceress stares at the chunk of Outsider as it glows red in the light. Arganan looks towards it, and then towards her again. "You've been angry about not having the power you wanted all this time. Atar…that fits you. And I think you deserve it out of everyone else."

The Sorceress takes a deep breath, looks Arganan in the eye, and then grabs his hand, only to place it on the Outsider's rocky surface along with her own. Blue and red shine brighter, and begin travelling up their arms; the red light creeping onto the Sorceress, and the blue light slither up Arganan's arm.

A groan escapes Arganan as he recalls his final moments; the light, the power, the surges of energy he felt. He looks to the Sorceress, who gasps and convulses briefly, hand trembling as she absorbs the new magic, but then he sees her smile as the power flows through her.

The guests can do nothing but stare in awe at the two. Arganan can't help but grin; not just because he has a lot more power now, but also because he can see the glee in the Sorceress' face as she revels in her newfound power, gazing down at her hands glowing red.

Alex is impressed. "Does that mean we can just beat the Collector now, given that you both have superpowers?"

"All you gotta do is join hands!" Rosanna is the most excited about this. "And then you can bring someone back!"

Colleen has another question. "Who _are_ you going to bring back?"

Arganan looks to the Sorceress. "Who do you _think_ we should bring back?" He values her opinion. He wants to hear what she says. He's drawn to her darkness, and he feels that he understands her to an extent as much as she understands him at this point.

The Sorceress chuckles. "I think we both know who," She answers, grabbing his hands and fingers intertwining with his own. Her talon-like hands don't scratch his, or if they have, he doesn't feel any pain.

There's a chant that goes along with combining the powers, and Arganan looks her in the eye as he speaks.

"_Outsider, hear our call. Restore the one who aids us all."_ Their intertwined hands glow in unison, and then a combined ball of blue and red light floats right between them. Nothing else happens, at first, but then the light suddenly floats out of the room at a speedy pace.

"Hey! Catch that light!" It's Joey that yells this, and everyone rushes to catch up. The light zigzags and flips around them as they try chasing it, and then it leads them to the Lounge.

All the way to stone-cursed Mortimer. The light floats around him, and then breaks into flecks of white light around him, floating downwards so they rest on him. His entire being glows white, and everyone has to cover their eyes.

When the light fades, Mortimer isn't stone, and he looks down at himself before staring up at the others.

"What happened?" He asked. He's dazed and confused, which makes sense given his previous state.

Arganan can't help but grin. "Brought you back. You're welcome."

* * *

Arganan and the Sorceress decide that since they have powers of the Outsider now, they might as well use them to assert what they want and get exactly that. Oh, and stay on the guests' good sides by killing virtually everyone that tries to kill the guests as well. DeStorm Power, Colleen Ballinger, Alex Wassabi, Bretman Rock, Rosanna Pansino and Joey Graceffa go through more death challenges to get the remaining keys, but Arganan and/or the Sorceress always find a way to make sure they don't suffer actual death at the end.

The Collector comes swooping in, and it's not an easy battle to win by going against her. Arganan is new to using the Outsider's Power, after all, and same with the Sorceress. Mortimer leads the guests to safety, helping them solve puzzles left and right that should presumably help defeat the Collector in the end, but Arganan is too occupied dodging the Collector's attacks to do much else right now about them.

"Do you think you stand a _chance?"_ The Collector demands. She almost hits the Sorceress with her spear, but the Sorceress dodges it. "You both should be in your exhibits where you belong!"

"How about," The Sorceress snaps back, "Never, _not in a million years?"_

Arganan almost laughs, but he uses the opportunity to blast the Collector into a wall (they can get it fixed later). He sees the Sorceress grin, and the two resume the fight together. The tides are turning in their favour this time, and no one will stop them.

* * *

The Collector finally falls, and the Cosmic Sphere stops the Armageddon clock, meaning no one in the Museum is going to Hell too soon. The Collector's jar of souls breaks, and out pops out several guests dressed in various era clothing as well as other people. There's a woman in a tan coat, checkered shirt and white scarf that hugs Mortimer, almost sobbing with joy. There is also a woman with dark hair, wearing raggedy clothes that Mortimer recognizes as Calliope, another person from Everlock.

As Mortimer recaps everything to Calliope and his mom, Arganan sees both women stare in Arganan and the Sorceress' directions, but he ignores them as he looks to Joey. "How many people died at your dinner parties?"

Joey grimaces. "Too many." He manages, just before he sees Liza happily rush over to him. Joey hugs Liza with a cheer before going to hug many other guests. Arganan notices the faces of Justine, Tim, Gabbie and Tana among the crowd; perhaps destroying the Armageddon clock brought them out of Hell and back into Purgatory.

"We did it." The Sorceress chuckles and Arganan turns to face her. She pushes bangs out of his face, caresses his cheek. "And this place is now ours."

"As much as I enjoy that fact," Arganan manages, "I'd rather it not be a Museum for much longer. If we did some renovations, it could be a castle. Or a manor."

"A castle _would _be exciting." The Sorceress muses. "We rule this place now, so we can do what we want with it."

"As much as I congratulate you two for getting together, helping us defeat the Collector and taking over Purgatory," Mortimer manages, looking between the two, "Could you open up a way to get us all out of here first, before you continue?"

Arganan frowns, looks to him. "You don't want to stay?"

Mortimer looks to the woman he hugged earlier, and then to Arganan. "Me and my mom need to get out of here, honestly. We've had more than enough terrors."

Arganan looks to the woman briefly, then to Mortimer. So that woman was his mother? He feels a pang of sympathy, as he thinks back to Calista. He wonders if his niece is happier right now. As far as Arganan knows, Calista and Zael are still alive and probably together.

"You could leave this place, too." Arganan looks to the Sorceress speaking, and he stares at her. She gives him a look. "What? You have a niece. I know you are lonely, and that you regret what you did to her. Why not take this chance?"

Arganan knows she has a point. He does regret using Calista as a pawn, even if it was all for the power. And if he leaves Purgatory, he's alive again and maybe he can make it up to her. But…he doesn't want the Sorceress to be alone. There must be a way to compromise these options.

And there is.

"You could come with me." Arganan offers. "I can't guarantee we'd be ruling Lazulis, given that my niece is likely in charge of it right now, but at least we'd be alive again. And living in a castle, too."

The Sorceress' eyes widen. He smiles and extends his hand towards hers (and yes, he's aware that it's his metal hand).

"Will you come with me? To Lazulis?"

She looks down at herself first. Looks back at the Museum, and then towards him, before taking his hand in hers.

"Yes."

The guests collectively go "awwwwww" at the sight of them holding hands.

"I ship it, sort of!" Joey is overheard saying, but Arganan doesn't care as he takes that moment to kiss the Sorceress on the spot (and that's when everyone else looks away because they _definitely_ didn't expect that to happen).

"Alright," Arganan turns to face the guests, taking a deep breath, "The party is over. All of you should go back."

"What!?" Tim exclaims. "Already?"

The Sorceress glares at Tim. "Do you want to be alive or not?"

Everyone else chooses the 'alive' option. Thank goodness for that.

* * *

Arganan and the Sorceress manage to send all the guests back to where they came from, and even get Calliope, Mortimer and his mom out as well. Getting to Lazulis is a little trickier, but they end up at the Lazulis Port, making their way through the crowds and towards the castle.

The guards don't believe who they are until Arganan unleashes his temper on them. Then they're let in to see Calista and Zael, both of them now ruling Lazulis as Arganan predicted.

Calista stares at her uncle, his arm intertwined with the arm of a woman she's never seen before. The way she holds herself exhumes confidence and power, dressed in that v-neck dress with the feathery shoulder piece.

"Uncle," Calista asks, "Who is she?"

Arganan chuckles. "The Sorceress. Fell in love with her while I was in Purgatory. She was the first one that found me, actually."

The Sorceress simply smiles, waves a little bit at Calista. "Don't worry. I promised him I wouldn't kill anyone without good reason. _You_ especially."

Zael, Calista's husband, gives Calista an odd look. "What do we do?"

Calista pauses, looks towards her uncle and the Sorceress, and then to Zael.

"Remember how we know that my founding ancestor fell in love with a Sorceress, Zael?"

Zael can only swallow. "Yup. History repeats."

Arganan can't help but grin at the Sorceress, and the Sorceress can only grin back at him.

At least this time, they're not lonely.


End file.
